Hospice

Scroll down for conversation starters about end-of-life care.

Considered the model for quality, compassionate care for people facing a life-limiting illness or injury, hospice involves a team-oriented approach to expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the person's needs and wishes. Hospice care keeps the patient comfortable and involves a dedicated team: physicians, nurses, social workers, home health aides, spiritual care counselors and volunteers. Hospice care is provided wherever the patient resides: in a home, skilled nursing or assisted living facilities, hospital, or our inpatient hospice units, Family Hospice Inpatient Center/Mt. Lebanon and Family Hospice Inpatient Center/Lawrenceville. A care plan is developed that is tailored to the patient's individual needs. The hospice team regularly visits to assess the patient and offer support to caregivers. Hospice staff is on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Family Hospice supports individual choices and provides caring with dignity and respect. When life expectancy is measured in months rather than years, Family Hospice's compassionate care is available as soon as you need it, for as long as you need it.

Hospice care provides:

Pain control

Symptom management (nausea, breathlessness, agitation, anxiety)

Visits by experienced members of the hospice team

Personal care (bathing, feeding, dressing)

On-call support 24 hours/7 days a week

Volunteer support for companionship and respite

Short-term care in a hospital, nursing home, or the hospice inpatient facility

Below, you may view a series of one-minute videos that serve as the perfect conversation starters for various aspects of end-of-life care. These vignettes were produced by The Take Charge Partnership in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. Family Hospice invites you and your loved ones to view these videos, while keeping this in mind: research indicates that better decision-making occurs when individuals and families take time to understand and openly discuss their options and wishes for care at the end of their lives.

Family Hospice shall accept referrals and provide services to all persons in need in its defined service area regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, creed, limited English proficiency, handicap or disability, ability to pay, ancestry, sexual orientation, diagnosis, infectious disease, or DNR status, if applicable.